Tommy John is remembered as one of Major League Baseball’s most durable pitchers and as the namesake of a medical procedure that changed sports forever. Behind much of his early adult life was Sally Simmons, his first wife and the mother of his four children.
John and Simmons married in 1970 and remained together for more than four decades before divorcing in 2013. Their marriage covered some of the most important years of John’s baseball career, including the extraordinary comeback that followed his groundbreaking elbow surgery in 1974.
John died on August 15, 2026, at age 83. His death has renewed interest in the people and events that shaped his life, including his long relationship with Simmons.
When They Married
Tommy John and Sally Simmons married in 1970.
Their relationship began before John became one of baseball’s best-known pitchers, meaning Simmons experienced the transformation of his career from close range. Their marriage lasted through his playing years, his injury and rehabilitation, and his eventual retirement.
The couple stayed together for 43 years before their divorce was finalized in 2013.
Because much of their personal life remained private, relatively few details about their relationship were made public. What is clear is that Simmons was part of John’s life during the defining period of his professional career.
Their Four Children
John and Simmons had four children: Tamara, Tommy John III, Travis and Taylor.
Their oldest son, Tommy John III, went on to work as a chiropractor and performance coach. He also became involved in educating young athletes about training and injury prevention, a subject particularly relevant given his father’s medical history.
Their daughter Tamara married Patrick Mannelly, a former Chicago Bears long snapper who spent 16 seasons in the NFL.
Their son Travis became known because of a remarkable childhood survival story. In 1981, when he was two years old, he fell from a third-floor window at a resort where the family was staying. He survived the serious accident and eventually recovered.
The youngest child, Taylor, died in 2010 at age 28. His death was a devastating loss for the family and became one of the most painful chapters of John’s personal life.
The 1974 Surgery
Sally Simmons was also present during one of the most important moments in Tommy John’s life.
In 1974, John was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers when he suffered a serious injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. At that time, the injury was widely regarded as potentially career-ending.
Dodgers team physician Dr. Frank Jobe proposed an experimental procedure to reconstruct the damaged ligament. John agreed to undergo the operation, which took place on September 25, 1974.
Simmons was by John’s side during this difficult period.
The surgery involved replacing the damaged ligament with a tendon taken from another part of John’s body. The procedure was experimental, and there was no guarantee that John would ever pitch in the major leagues again.
His recovery required an extended rehabilitation program.
A Historic Comeback
John eventually returned to the mound in 1976.
His comeback was extraordinary. Rather than simply returning to professional baseball, he continued pitching at a high level for many more seasons.
The procedure that saved his career eventually became known as Tommy John surgery. It went on to become one of the most recognizable operations in baseball, particularly among pitchers dealing with UCL injuries.
Simmons therefore shared one of the most consequential periods of John’s career. Her husband went from facing the possible end of his professional life to establishing a second chapter that lasted more than a decade.
Their Life After Baseball
John continued his career until 1989. By the time he retired, he had spent 26 seasons in the major leagues and accumulated 288 victories.
His longevity was extraordinary even before considering the surgery. His return after the 1974 injury made his career especially notable.
Throughout those years, Simmons and John were raising their children while navigating the demands of professional baseball. Their marriage lasted through John’s playing career and into his post-baseball years.
The couple ultimately divorced in 2013 after 43 years together.
Sally’s Place in His Story
Sally Simmons did not become famous in her own right through baseball, but her name remains connected to one of the sport’s most remarkable comeback stories.
She was John’s wife when he suffered the injury that appeared capable of ending his career. She was also raising a family with him while he went through the uncertainty of experimental surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation.
That period was about more than baseball statistics. John’s future, career and livelihood were all uncertain.
His successful return eventually changed medical history, but the personal support surrounding that recovery was an important part of the story.
A Marriage That Spanned Decades
A 43-year marriage encompasses a substantial portion of an adult lifetime.
For Tommy John and Sally Simmons, those decades included the birth and upbringing of four children, the demands of a professional baseball career, an unprecedented medical comeback and the eventual transition into life after baseball.
Their marriage ended in divorce in 2013, but Simmons remains an important figure in John’s biography because of how long their lives were intertwined.
She was his wife during his rise to prominence, during the injury that nearly ended his career and during the historic recovery that ultimately gave his name to a medical procedure used around the world.
Tommy John’s baseball legacy is often told through numbers: 26 major-league seasons, 288 wins, four All-Star selections and the operation that bears his name.
His personal story is more complicated.
Sally Simmons was part of the family chapter behind those achievements. Together they raised four children and navigated some of life’s most difficult moments, including the loss of their son Taylor.
Although their marriage eventually ended, their 43 years together represent a significant part of Tommy John’s life.
As baseball continues to remember John following his death in 2026, his story is not only about the pitcher who returned from a seemingly devastating injury. It is also about the family that lived through those years with him—and Sally Simmons was central to that chapter.
